
The Invention of Murder
How the Victorians Revelled in Death and Detection and Created Modern Crime
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Narrated by:
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Jennifer M. Dixon
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By:
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Judith Flanders
About this listen
In this fascinating exploration of murder in 19th-century England, Judith Flanders examines some of the most gripping cases that captivated the Victorians and gave rise to the first detective fiction.
Murder in the 19th century was rare. But murder as sensation and entertainment became ubiquitous, with cold-blooded killings transformed into novels, broadsides, ballads, opera, and melodrama - even into puppet shows and performing-dog acts. Detective fiction and the new police force developed in parallel, each imitating the other - the founders of Scotland Yard gave rise to Dickens's Inspector Bucket, the first fictional police detective, who in turn influenced Sherlock Holmes and, ultimately, even P. D. James and Patricia Cornwell.
In this meticulously researched and engrossing book, Judith Flanders retells the gruesome stories of many different types of murder in Great Britain, both famous and obscure: from Greenacre, who transported his dismembered fiancee around town by omnibus, to Burke and Hare's bodysnatching business in Edinburgh; from the crimes (and myths) of Sweeney Todd and Jack the Ripper, to the tragedy of the murdered Marr family in London's East End. Through these stories of murder - from the brutal to the pathetic - Flanders builds a rich and multi-faceted portrait of Victorian society in Great Britain.
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In this intimate history of the extraordinary Black Plague pandemic that swept through the British Isles in 1665, Evelyn Lord focuses on the plague's effects on smaller towns, where every death was a singular blow affecting the entire community. Lord's fascinating reconstruction of life during plague times presents the personal experiences of a wide range of individuals, from historical notables to common folk. The Great Plague brings this dark era to vivid life through stories of loss and survival from those who grieved, those who fled, and those who hid to await their fate.
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Great.
- By Michael S. Henderson on 04-30-25
By: Evelyn Lord
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The Lost Queen
- The Life & Tragedy of the Prince Regent's Daughter
- By: Anne M. Stott
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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As the only child of the Prince Regent and Caroline of Brunswick, Princess Charlotte of Wales (1796-1817) was the heiress presumptive to the throne. Her parents' marriage had already broken up by the time she was born. She had a difficult childhood and a turbulent adolescence, but she was popular with the public, who looked to her to restore the good name of the monarchy.
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excellent
- By meganajjcec on 10-12-20
By: Anne M. Stott
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The Journal of the Plague Year
- London, 1665
- By: Daniel Defoe
- Narrated by: Nelson Runger
- Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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London's Great Plague of 1665 devastated the city, as Europe's final bubonic outbreak killed thousands of helpless citizens. Daniel Defoe, author of the classic Robinson Crusoe, was five years old when the Plague swept through London, and grew up hearing many stories - some truthful, others exaggerated - of its deadly effects. Blending those anecdotes with his childhood recollections and factual data from government registers, Defoe wrote this comprehensive account of what happened to London in 1665.
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Tedious
- By Ellen Spertus on 08-29-03
By: Daniel Defoe
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The Complete Jack the Ripper
- By: Donald Rumbelow
- Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart
- Length: 14 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Laying out all the evidence in the most comprehensive summary ever written about the Ripper, this book, by a London police officer and crime authority, has subjected every theory - including those that have emerged in recent years-to the same deep scrutiny. The author also examines the mythology surrounding the case and provides some fascinating insights into the portrayal of the Ripper on stage and screen and on the printed page. More seriously, he also examines the horrifying parallel crimes of the Düsseldorf Ripper and the Yorkshire Ripper.
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catch the facts if you can
- By Alexandra on 11-17-19
By: Donald Rumbelow
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The Big Book of Victorian Mysteries
- By: Otto Penzler - editor
- Narrated by: Rachael Beresford, Stephen Bowlby, Dan Calley
- Length: 37 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Edgar Award winner Otto Penzler returns with a new anthology of exhilarating mysteries, assembling Victorian society's lords and ladies and most miserable miscreants. Behind the velvet curtains of horse-drawn carriages and amid the soft glow of the gaslights are the detectives and bobbies sniffing out the safecrackers and petty purloiners who plague everything from the soot-covered side streets of London to the opulent manors of the countryside. Brush off your dinner jackets and straighten out your ball gowns for these exciting, glitzy mysteries.
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Good to listen to over the holidays
- By Linda Conover on 01-01-23
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One Hot Summer
- Dickens, Darwin, Disraeli, and the Great Stink of 1858
- By: Rosemary Ashton
- Narrated by: Corrie James
- Length: 12 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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While 1858 in London may have been noteworthy for its broiling summer months and the related stench of the sewage-filled Thames River, the year is otherwise little remembered. And yet, historian Rosemary Ashton reveals in this compelling microhistory, 1858 was marked by significant, if unrecognized, turning points. For ordinary people, and also for the rich, famous, and powerful, the months from May to August turned out to be a summer of consequence.
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A very good history.
- By Mack Tennyson on 02-13-19
By: Rosemary Ashton
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The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher
- The Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective
- By: Kate Summerscale
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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In June of 1860 three-year-old Saville Kent was found at the bottom of an outdoor privy with his throat slit. The crime horrified all England and led to a national obsession with detection. At the time, the detective was a relatively new invention; there were only eight detectives in all of England and rarely were they called out of London, but this crime was so shocking that Scotland Yard sent its best man to investigate, Inspector Jonathan Whicher.
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Tragic Murder at dawn of detective bureau
- By Kindle Customer on 08-20-14
By: Kate Summerscale
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Slaves in the Family
- By: Edward Ball
- Narrated by: Edward Ball
- Length: 20 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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The Ball family hails from South Carolina - Charleston and thereabouts. Their plantations were among the oldest and longest-standing plantations in the South. Between 1698 and 1865, close to 4,000 Black people were born into slavery under the Balls or were bought by them. In Slaves in the Family, Edward Ball recounts his efforts to track down and meet the descendants of his family's slaves.
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Gives a good insight for moving forward today
- By Wendy Wood on 05-05-19
By: Edward Ball
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The Bloody Century
- True Tales of Murder in 19th Century America
- By: Robert Wilhelm
- Narrated by: Charles Huddleston
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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A murderous atmosphere pervaded 19th-century America marked by lurid newspaper accounts and remembered in ballad and verse. The Bloody Century presents 50 of the most intriguing murder cases from the archives of American crime. It is a collection of fascinating stories - some famous, some long-buried - of Americans, driven by desperation, greed, jealousy, or an irrational bloodlust, to take another’s life.
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Fun true crime with many a twist!
- By Lee Pollock on 08-04-21
By: Robert Wilhelm
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A Place for Everything
- The Curious History of Alphabetical Order
- By: Judith Flanders
- Narrated by: Julia Winwood
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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From a New York Times best-selling historian comes the story of how the alphabet ordered our world. A Place for Everything is the first-ever history of alphabetization, from the Library of Alexandria to Wikipedia. The story of alphabetical order has been shaped by some of history's most compelling characters, such as industrious and enthusiastic early adopter Samuel Pepys and dedicated alphabet champion Denis Diderot. But though even George Washington was a proponent, many others stuck to older forms of classification.
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You have to love library science
- By A. Yoshida on 10-23-21
By: Judith Flanders
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If Walls Could Talk
- An Intimate History of the Home
- By: Lucy Worsley
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Why did the flushing toilet take two centuries to catch on? Why did medieval people sleep sitting up? When were the two "dirty centuries?" Why did gas lighting cause Victorian ladies to faint? Why, for centuries, did rich people fear fruit?In her brilliantly and creatively researched book, Lucy Worsley takes us through the bedroom, bathroom, living room, and kitchen.
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Compelling.
- By Kirsten on 06-05-12
By: Lucy Worsley
What listeners say about The Invention of Murder
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- DracoTerrae
- 05-29-24
Info Dump
It was very interesting, but it felt like A LOT of info written plainly and a bit repetitive.
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- Janalyn
- 03-14-20
Excellent, awesome and educational!
I love true crime and history so this book was perfect for me. They do have true crime stories throughout this book, but they also have great stories about the history of England’s criminal system. From the first police who walked the beach to Scotland yard this is an education and crime. If you like historical true crime and history you will love this book. If you were just looking for gory details that is not this book. I am so glad I bought this book and now I will be reading it again in the futur.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Mr&Mrs
- 02-11-24
Really informative
I enjoyed this book quite a lot. if you like historical true crime you'll enjoy it too
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- Sherry
- 07-11-21
A Very Good Book
The research seemed through and the narration engaging. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Victorian England. Rather fascinating.
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- Cassie Slaby
- 08-28-24
Information like none other!
Loves the amount of information that this book provides. It takes the audience through a grand timeline of murder and the publics love and fascination of it. I highly recommend this book/audiobook to anyone that wants to learn more about the victorian Era and the evolution of murder and deduction.
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- Madison
- 03-03-25
Excellent
if you like historical true crime, focused on the victorian era, this is the book for you.
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- BTZ
- 08-21-20
Nice Try But Ultimately Bites More Than It Can Chew
I listened to the book on Audible and the narration was good if not spectacular. The narrator had a challenge keeping
My attention, and this is coming from someone who loves noir/gothic setting and true crime.
The real problem was that the book is so poorly organized with the author jumping in and out of references to true crime and the literature they supposedly influenced whole also going back and forth throughout the 18th century that it became somewhat white noise.
I also question some of the conclusions the author comes to in her analysis of where real-life murders affected literature and where literature affected the real world. For a book supposedly trying the connect a massive amount of dots, it reads more like a survey of interesting coincidences with some suggestions of actual, intentional, influence. As a result, deeper analysis is limited and the book reads more like it is simply trying to keep ahold of a topic that requires better and deeper discussions.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Angela Kennedy
- 10-16-24
Author connections.
This book was good. The narrator was a little dry but not terrible either. The book itself was really interesting. I was back and forth with not wanting to continue but unable to put it down. What I really enjoyed about this is the connections the author makes to famous authors from that time and local murders that happened. Overall I’m glad I finished it as it gives the reader a lot to think about in the regard of why murder is so fascinating to people. I will definitely recommend the book to other crime book readers.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Oliver
- 01-28-25
Fantastic and Fascinating (Scholarly) Text
I was apprehensive given the number of poor reviews, but I LOVED it and couldn’t stop listening. I think that part of the problem is that people are expecting a pop non-fiction approach, and this is not quite that. It’s really a very well-written and well-researched scholarly history of murder and its depiction in the arts.
If you, like me, live for delicious nuggets of information and bizarre historical details, there’s a decent chance that you’ll love this. It is thorough!! But so fun, in my opinion.
If you want something a little more big picture and less granular, I would say to still give it a try, but have something like The Poisoner’s Handbook (also incredible) lined up just in case you get bored.
I didn’t mind the narrator at all either (I thought the dry humor of the book came across nicely, and her accents aren’t distracting), but taste in narrators is a subjective matter.
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- Hamptot71
- 03-26-21
Warning: Do Not Drive or and Listen to this
It is so dull and monotone, you will be lulled right to sleep. It should come with a do not drive or operate heavy machinery warning. I can't listen more than 10 minutes before I'm dozing.
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2 people found this helpful